HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD
by tommarvoloriddle1
Summary: My version of Harry's sixth year...Spies, dementors and new (?) prison guards...Something that lay dormant in Harry for years has awakened...what is it?
1. Default Chapter

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAMED SWORD  
  
CHAPTER 1   
  
REMEMBERING PADFOOT  
  
Enclosed within a circle of hooded figures were two men. The one that was tall and extremely thin was holding the hand of the short and balding man who was half-kneeling and half-slumping in front of him. "Wormtail here believes he has an idea that would rid me of Harry Potter, don't you, Wormtail? Why don't you start, now that my most devoted followers have joined me " The voice was brilliantly cold .The man called Wormtail kept kneeling , shaking , and clutched his left wrist. "It hurts doesn't it? But not more than this .Crucio." continued the voice." Now why don't you start quickly, unless you wish to be treated to another dose of...".  
  
Wormtail had fallen to the ground and was writhing in agony. He managed to stand up on shaking legs and began.  
  
Harry Potter woke up from another one of his nightmares. His scar burnt badly ,"so he quickly began writing a letter to his godfather using a quill . Suddenly , something seemed to strike him and he lay back on his bed , his eyes seemed to have glazed over. He stifled a sob that threatened to break out , he looked out at the full moon and wondered how different life would be without his godfather.  
  
In a closed shed far away from Harry Potter , a werewolf lay curled up . Though it wasn't capable of proper thought,it instinctively felt the absence of a companion it had pranced around with a long time back. The wolfsbane potion had killed its appetite for flesh and slowly, with nothing to do ,it had slept like it hadn't on any day of the past week.  
  
8  
  
"Cornelius Fudge ,Minister of Magic , yesterday held a press conference in which he explained to the wizarding community that the Ministry was taking appropriate steps to deal with the threat of He-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Written and that he was also consulting Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts as to -"   
  
Ronald Weasley looked up from the paper to his father.  
  
"He's just making lot's of noise , isn't he , dad?" said Ron.  
  
"No son, this time, I believe he is fully ready to co-operate, to any extent, even though it may be just because he doesn't want to let go of his office, from which he is sure to fall if he doesn't take immediate action." replied his father.  
  
"Can't Harry come over , dad ?"asked Ron.  
  
"Not yet, there are a few things to be sorted out. Dumbledore will tell us when it is alright .He's been going around placing charms over all sorts of places , especially over the houses of members of the Order .Even so, its not safe for Harry to leave his family".  
  
"His family ? That's stupid, we are more family than those muggle creeps"  
  
"Now Ron, we mustn't talk like that just because we dislike somebody..."he replied absently. "The point is ...his aunt is his only remaining blood relative, so he has to stay there for some more time. It's some ancient magic ,Ron." he added , before Ron could ask him anything else.  
  
Ron pondered over this as he wondered how exactly Harry was faring at the Dursleys. 


	2. RESOLUTION

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
Dishant: thanx for your review... the chapters are going to come up real quickly, too  
  
Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I'm up to no good  
  
CHAPTER 2  
RESOLUTION  
  
To say the least, Harry Potter wasn't doing too well. For a week since his return to the Dursleys, he had refused to open the door at all and had eaten whatever Aunt Petunia had pushed through the small flap in his door, which was not a lot. He stayed out of the Dursleys way, and they stayed out of his, which suited all of them just fine. He wrote to Ron and Hermione every day, but there was really nothing to write about.  
  
Even though Hermione had been insisting that he talk to her about Sirius's death, he wouldn't do it .He knew that the responsibility was entirely his, there was no need for anyone to talk him out of this guilt.  
  
However, taking Hermione's advice, he had subscribed to The Daily Prophet. There were still no signs of any unusual activity, and many suspected death eaters had simply disappeared. Fudge seemed to be acknowledging the truth in a fairly dignified manner and he found that he was being projected as the reason why no one should fear another Voldemort takeover.  
  
'Voldemort must probably be up to something new' he thought He knew that Voldemort wouldn't march out into the open until he was out of their way.  
  
He wished he had not woken up when Voldemort had performed the Cruciatus curse on Wormtail. He might have learnt something useful for the order...something about a new plan or something.  
  
His thoughts drifted back to Sirius. The guilt was simply too much for him, people used to wonder how he himself had gone through so much and yet managed to live through it...but what he had gone through was peanuts compared to what Sirius had gone through... 12 years in Azkaban, with no thoughts but that of guilt and hatred. And because of him, Sirius had died... Sirius had died for him... and suddenly he knew what he could do for Sirius, he would live for him...and for those who loved him. They were sacrificing so much for him...he had no right to mop around...he would live for them, even if he were dying inside. They didn't deserve to see him weak and vulnerable, they didn't deserve to see his tears or his guilt and so it would be.  
  
Harry stood up, went to the bathroom and washed his face...his face was all drawn out and weary due to lack of sleep. He had been having all sorts of nightmares.  
  
After drying his face, with fresh determination on his face, he dug out a spare bit of parchment from his trunk and taking out a quill ...started writing to Dumbledore.  
  
He imagined the words in his head 'Dear Professor Dumbledore...I had a dream last night in which Voldemort had some plan, Harry' It sounded stupid. He was worried about Dumbledore also...despite Dumbledore's impressive magic against Voldemort in the Ministry, he couldn't help but feel that the Headmaster was growing old and tired and he did not want to send stupid paranoid sounding letters to him .  
  
In the past week, he had learned to respect Dumbledore even more for all that he had done for him...that Dumbledore was the one person who stood between Harry and Voldemort. He felt ashamed of his petty outburst at Dumbledore, who had just said he had deserved it completely. No way Dumbledore had deserved it...it was he who deserved it, by not listening to his advice to follow Occlumency.  
  
Occlumency-he started writing to Ron quickly.  
  
"Hiya Ron  
  
Could you find out from your dad whether it is necessary for me to continue Occlumency lessons? You know that I don't really have much to do here, so could he check up with Dumbledore and let me know quickly. I'm fine here and the Muggles are treating me ok...so all of you don't land up over here to check up on me....  
  
See you soon Harry"  
  
He folded up the note and handed it to Hedwig and said "give this to Ron, ok". Hedwig hooted softly and flew out of the open window.  
  
For the first time since his return to Privet Drive, Harry stepped out of his bedroom and went down to the dining room where Dudley was wolfing down bacon and eggs far breakfast.  
  
"I'd like some breakfast, Aunt Petunia" he called into the kitchen. He heard a sharp intake of breath from the kitchen and then Aunt Petunia's bony face peering apprehensively into the room. It vanished as soon as it had appeared. Dudley lost his wits when he heard Harry's voice and tried to hide underneath the table, still clutching at his breakfast. Harry smirked grimly; a whale would have had a better chance of hiding in a fishbowl.  
  
Aunt Petunia dumped some ugly looking stuff in front of him. "How d-dare you call me like that...and scaring little Duddykins" Aunt Petunia's voice was shaking as she attempted to pull out Dudley, who was attempting to dig deeper.  
  
"I thought breakfast was bacon, no?" Harry said quietly, ignoring her.  
  
"You'll get what you deserve you ungrateful f-freak" she mumbled , as though scared that she would suddenly be accosted by that horrible looking man with his bowler hat and evil magical eye.  
  
"Never mind...this is crap, don't expect me to eat this, keep something better next time, ok?" said Harry, walking away towards his room.  
  
"Where is his dad, anyway? Not like him to miss breakfast with old lil Duddykins, is it." asked Harry, suddenly remembering that he had not seen Vernon Dursley at all.  
  
"None of your business" she spat at him.  
  
Harry whirled around and walked away, wondering how long it would be before he would be able to leave Privet Drive for good.  
  
Author: If you read this please do review... any suggestions or corrections are welcome.  
I haven't been in touch with the 5 books for a long time and so there might be a few factual mistakes...  
Hopefully...I will be able to sort them out with your help  
Thanx 


	3. ESCAPE FROM THE BURROW

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I'm up to no good  
  
Storyreader101: thanx for ur review. I'll do the best I can.  
  
Ebony River: Your suggestion and the reasons for it are excellent, but my plot requires Harry to be more mature than he has been in the previous years...so his newfound respect for Dumbledore. Thanx a lot...keep up the suggestions plz.  
  
CHAPTER 3  
  
ESCAPE FROM THE BURROW  
  
The Daily Prophet was having a field day. All of a sudden, two or three wizarding families had been taken out by Death Eater attacks. The telltale Dark Mark had been found hovering over the ruins of the houses and the bodies of the people had been mutilated beyond recognition.  
  
"  
  
ATTACK BY DEATH EATERS  
  
Late last night, another attack by Death Eaters culminated in the death of Arthur Lovegood, Editor of THE QUIBBLER and Amos Diggory and his wife Mary. It will be remembered that Cedric Diggory was one of the first to fall in this war against You-Know-Who. However, Arthur Lovegood's daughter and sole survivor in the family, Luna Lovegood, a student at Hogwarts, managed to escape from the house even as Mr. Lovegood tried to stop the Death Eaters along with the Diggorys, who had been visiting their close friends, the Lovegoods. Amos Diggory was an official at the Ministry in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical creatures.  
  
The Minister of Magic has hastened to assure the wizarding community that the attack was clearly an attempt to cause panic among the people...he has however advised people not to leave their home without taking precautions. Also, special portkeys are being assigned to quite a few people in order to help them escape to a top security camp in case of an attack by the Death Eaters. Apparition is not quite an option as apparition through dark magic fields can be disastrous.  
  
Unconfirmed reports however suggest that the attack might not have been as random as it seemed... It is an open secret that the Ministry is still trying to enlist the aid of certain magical creatures like giants, known for their extremely violent and bloodthirsty nature, in this fight against The Dark Lord. Whether this has anything to do with Amos Diggory and his position at the ministry is yet to be confirmed."  
  
Harry had read this report and felt a tense knot in his chest.  
  
'It's started' he thought...  
  
After his encounter with the Dursleys a couple of days back, he had decided that it was better if he stayed out of their way completely.  
  
Ron had replied immediately after giving Harry's letter to his parents. Professor Dumbledore had felt that while there was little or no chance of Voldemort planting visions in Harry, it was best if he continued his lessons and so had sent a couple of books to him via Ron.  
  
Harry had read through the first few pages of Occlumency for beginners.  
  
"A master Occlumenist is able to 'read' the mind of those not as capable of him and can also block out those emotions which can help another to determine whether his own thought are true or false. Indeed, those who are very skilled can utter falsehoods giving the impression of saying the perfect truth, even to other Occlumenists.  
  
You need to clear your mind of all emotion, for any uncontrolled emotion is detrimental to the Occlumenist.  
  
Practice this by choosing some topic that can cause you great anger, and then try to consciously kill your anger..."  
  
"What use is this kind of advice to anyone" he wondered aloud. "Real useless...maybe I should think of Voldemort and then count to ten or something. Nah, I guess I do need a teacher, useless to read theory without practicals."  
  
He had started feeling drowsy and even talking aloud to himself wasn't going to keep him awake.  
  
"Yes, My Lord, his closest friends are the Weasleys..."  
  
"Ah, well, well, we shall get the muggle lovers and mudbloods in a single raid. Lead the strike, Macnair."  
  
"At once, My Lord"  
  
Harry awoke...his heart thumping loudly...he had to help them get out of the Burrow...but how...Hedwig was out and he had no idea when she would return...of course, Mrs. Figg, she might be able to help him. He tore down the stairs and out of the house leaving the Dursleys speechless.  
  
As soon as he got to Mrs. Figg, he called out to her.  
  
"What is it, Harry? You know that leaving the house isn't safe-" she started as she opened the door.  
  
"Got to warn the Weasleys, Voldemort-attack-Burrow" panted Harry, Mrs. Figg ran to the fireplace and called Dumbledore's name loudly.  
  
Albus Dumbledore's head appeared in the flames almost immediately. "What is it, Arabella? Oh, hello Harry" he added, seeing Harry.  
  
"Professor, there's going to be an attack on the Burrow" he said, as quickly as he could manage.  
  
Dumbledore nodded, "Use the floo powder to get to Grimmauld place Harry. Leave all your stuff back there, we'll get it later." His head disappeared.  
  
Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Going back to Sirius's old home would only further his guilt... he remembered the plans he had made with Sirius to live in his home.  
  
No, he had to be strong...  
  
He suddenly realized that Mrs. Figg was pushing some floo powder in his hand and pushing him towards the fireplace.  
  
"Wha-oh, thanks, Mrs. Figg" said Harry, taking the powder.  
  
"Be careful, Harry" she said.  
  
He threw it into the flames and stepped into it, calling out "No.12, Grimmauld Place".  
  
He fell face flat into the Black mansion, head still spinning from effect of his journey.  
  
Grimacing, he was helped onto his feet...floo had never been his favorite mode of travel. Remus Lupin was standing there, looking slightly amused at Harry's entrance.  
  
"All right, Harry" asked Lupin.  
  
"Yeah, what about the Weasleys," he asked "is everyone ok?"  
  
"They'll be fine, Harry...Dumbledore's gone to get them himself...along with the rest of the Order. I've stayed behind for your arrival"  
  
A sudden sound made Harry turn around...the entire Weasley family had arrived, and they had another person with them, Luna Lovegood.  
  
Do R/R  
  
Thanx a lot 


	4. POSSIBLE SPIES

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I am up to no good.  
  
Ebony River and AngieGS : I'm real grateful for ur advice...I'll try to follow it up, and yes, I was trying to rush through the chapters...but I'll take it a bit easier from now on and get the plot moving a bit more.  
  
Miamikat a.k.a. anonymous: that was encouraging, thanx a lot  
  
POSSIBLE SPIES  
  
CHAPTER 4  
  
Harry grinned at the Weasleys...happy to see all of them arrive together safely; he noticed that Percy wasn't there; he was also surprised at seeing Luna with them.  
  
Mrs. Weasley came over to Harry and gave hi, a big hug...she was looking rather worried.  
  
"Hello dear." She said.  
  
Mr. Weasley gave him a pat on the shoulder as Lupin quickly joined him and walked into their conference room with him.  
  
Harry turned back to see Ron, Fred, George and Ginny grinning back at him. Luna gave Harry a small wave as Mrs. Weasley ushered her into the conference room too.  
  
Bill and Charlie also walked into the conference room after wishing Harry a good morning and muttering a quiet thanks....  
  
"All right mate" asked Ron...then noticed that Harry was taking in his pajamas and grinned sheepishly, "Cool PJ's, huh?"  
  
Fred, George and Ginny had burst out laughing watching Harry's sickened face...  
  
"Don't tell him, we bewitched it and he thinks it's a Cannons PJ with a snitch flying all over it" whispered George in Harry's ear as Harry continue staring at the pajamas in which a number of small red hearts were flying about and colliding into one another.  
  
"Yeah, real cool...Ron, just make sure that Fred and George don't get their hands on this one, who knows what they might do to it" grinned Harry, as the other three began sniggering.  
  
"What's with these nutters, anyway?" asked Ron, rather upset.  
  
"We're just jealous, Ron" said Ginny sweetly.  
  
"Yeah, well... What's the story Harry?" asked Ron, casting around for a different subject.  
  
"We were all hurried out of bed by the Order...you must have had a dream, right?" asked Ginny.  
  
"Yeah...Voldemort was planning to attack the burrow...so I got to Dumbledore. What's Luna doing with you guys anyway?"  
  
"You-Know-Who killed her father, Harry. She turned up with dad yesterday morning, she hasn't told us anything...poor girl" said George seriously.  
  
"Can't eavesdrop into the room" announced Fred, turning away from the conference room door, "they're probably asking her what happened at her house two days back."  
  
The five of them launched into their theories of the attack on the Diggorys. After a while...a sudden crack announced the return of Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Wotcher Harry" said Tonks, she looked as though she had camouflaged herself...she was completely brown...the same colour as the earth.  
  
"Potter, you ok?" growled Moody.  
  
"What happened?" asked Harry. "Did you get any Death Eaters?"  
  
"No Harry... as a matter of fact...there was no attack on the Burrow...I wonder how they came to know that a rescue mission had been planned...well, the Weasleys are safe, anyway" answered Dumbledore. He gave Harry a slight smile as the four walked past them into the conference room, which had been opened by Mrs. Weasley.  
  
Harry looked at Ron and Ginny, who were looking at Harry as though they were also wondering the same thing.  
  
Had Voldemort planted another vision in his mind? The last one had caused him grief beyond pain. The thought was numbing...however, the Weasleys were safe, and Dumbledore had himself said that the chances that Voldemort could plant a vision in his mind were nil. That would mean that Voldemort had a spy somewhere. Who was it?  
  
Something somewhere was very wrong. How had the spy contacted Voldemort right under Dumbledore's nose? One would have to be very wily to do that, but Dumbledore could be deceived...hadn't Barty Crouch Jr. done the same.  
  
Harry didn't know what to think, he would have trusted anyone in this room with his life. He would need Hermione's help on this one. Or had Voldemort read his mind? Nah, if he couldn't plant visions, nor could he read them...what was going on?  
  
Harry kept his suspicions to himself...he didn't want to tell anyone in case it got to the spy's ears too, if there was one.  
  
"You sure You-Know-Who didn't ... you know" said Ron hesitantly, he wasn't sure how Harry would react to the idea of another false vision. Ginny, Fred and George were looking expectantly at Harry.  
  
"Um...I'm not sure...I don't think so," said Harry.  
  
Ron started to say something, but Ginny cut in and said "Drop it, Ron", Harry gave her a slight grateful smile and she smiled back at him.  
  
"Yeah, ok" said Ron.  
  
Fred and George were staring at the conference room morosely. "We're old enough to join the Order, but mum still gets kittens every time we mention it" said Fred gloomily.  
  
"But, on a brighter note...The Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes are proud to present to our generous financer," said George.  
  
"Free of cost, of course" added Fred.  
  
"Our very first" said George.  
  
"And only Sperrorell disrupter." finished Fred.  
  
"What's this?" asked Harry, taking a small black ball from the twins.  
  
"It disrupts previously cast spells...causes some other spell to take place in place of the one that's been cast" explained George.  
  
"Yeah, just slip it under Malfoy's desk and activate it" said Fred gleefully.  
  
"How?" asked Harry and Ron together...anything that would give Malfoy a headache was more than welcome.  
  
"Ah, Harry, you know the password... 'I solemnly swear I am up to no -'".  
  
Harry gave them a small grin and pocketed the ball. His anguish had suddenly flooded back at the memory of the Marauders famous words. Sirius would have enjoyed this stuff, he thought bitterly.  
  
He turned around and pulled himself together.  
  
"Thanks Fred, George" he said.  
  
Ron had settled onto the sofa and was looking rather hesitantly around the Black Manor...  
  
"Ron, you know when Hermione's gonna come over" asked Harry.  
  
"She was going to come to the Burrow tomorrow...that reminds me...can I borrow Hedwig when she comes back? I'll write to her and ask her to come over here directly" said Ron.  
  
"Sure...she'll probably be desperate to know her OWLs and all." smirked Harry.  
  
"Yeah..."grinned Ron, "She'll do great, hope we won't get ours till after we get out of Hogwarts, eh?"  
  
"You know something Harry, I noticed that Ron seems to spend too much time thinking, speaking and writing to Hermione" said Ginny slyly.  
  
Harry caught on "Yeah, I remember how upset he was when Hermione went to the ball with Vicky."  
  
"Cut it out, you two" said Ron in a small voice. He was particularly glad that Fred and George were occupied with something and hadn't listened to this part of the conversation. The heat was rising up his face.  
  
A small click told them that the conference room door had opened.  
  
"Harry dear, join us in the room, will you" said Mrs. Weasley. "You four can stay right where you are" she added forcefully as the others also made a move to get up from the sofa.  
  
This is not really where I wanted to leave this chapter, but typing gets to me...so this will have to do.  
  
R/R plz thanx 


	5. JOINING THE ORDER

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
LOADS OF THANX to all of you who took the trouble of reviewing this stuff  
  
CHAPTER 5  
  
JOINING THE ORDER  
  
"Harry, come in and have a seat." said Dumbledore.  
  
The members of the Order were seated around a large table. Harry had a feeling that Moody's magical eye was fixed on him even though he was deep in conversation with Lupin, who was gazing thoughtfully at Luna.  
  
"Harry, would you tell us exactly what happened in your dream" asked Dumbledore.  
  
Harry felt everyone looking at him.  
  
"Well, uh- I heard a Death Eater in conversation with Voldemort..." he paused when a few of the members flinched at the name, then decided to ignore it "he was saying that the Weasleys were to be attacked becau-" he choked on the words... 'because of me being close to them' said a nasty voice in his mind... "and then Voldemort asked that Death Eater to attack at once".  
  
Albus Dumbledore seemed to have heard the words unspoken in Harry's mind,  
  
"Thank you Harry, however, remember not to take all this too hard on yourself" he said kindly.  
  
"Well, that finishes the meeting...are you sure you'd like to take Luna in, Molly?" asked Lupin.  
  
"Yes, come on dear" said Mrs. Weasley, taking Luna's hand in hers and guiding her out.  
  
Harry waited till almost everyone had left the room. Lupin and Dumbledore were waiting; they seemed to anticipate that Harry had something to talk to them about.  
  
"I'd like to join the Order too" said Harry quietly, without any preliminary.  
  
To his relief, and surprise, Lupin and Dumbledore were considering this seriously.  
  
"Have you thought this over carefully, Harry? Do you really want to do this?" asked Lupin...he almost looked as though he were filling up with a kind of fierce pride.  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Well, that settles it, then" said Dumbledore simply. "However, I must impress upon you the necessity that everything the Order does should be kept within the Order. Not a word to Miss Granger or Mr. Weasley".  
  
Harry nodded again.  
  
"Erm- does everyone in the Order know about the prophesy?" asked Harry.  
  
"No Harry, only I and Remus do. He knew it even before you were born, of course" answered Dumbledore.  
  
"Whether you want to let everyone know is entirely your decision Harry" said Lupin.  
  
"I don't want to let anyone know" said Harry fiercely.  
  
"Well, I'll leave you the task of breaking the news to Molly, Remus. Good luck, Harry." With a POP, he disappeared.  
  
Harry and Lupin came out together. It seemed that Mad-Eye and Tonks had already left, so had Mr. Weasley, Fred and George.  
  
Luna was sitting beside Ginny, who was patting her hand. Ron was waiting for Harry.  
  
"What happened, Harry?" he asked, bursting to know.  
  
"Nothing, they just asked about my dream and all" said Harry.  
  
"Well, Luna just told Ginny what happened. It seems the Diggorys had those special portkey things that the Ministry had been handing out and managed to activate it just in time and Luna managed to escape to that special apparition point. Kingsley Shacklebolt was on duty there and he then brought her over to the Burrow" whispered Ron, careful to keep his voice low in case Luna heard.  
  
Harry noticed that Luna was looking rather pale. Ginny was trying her best to keep Luna's thoughts away from her father's death, but Luna wasn't responding at all.  
  
"She's taking it very badly" whispered Ginny to Harry and Ron sadly, who had joined the two of them on the sofa.  
  
"It'll be alright, Luna" said Harry kindly.  
  
She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Birthday Boy, July 31st, remember...get up" shouted someone in Harry's ear.  
  
"Wha-right" said Harry sleepily. He was trying to remember that weird dream he had had about the Chamber of Secrets and some kind of weird green light.  
  
A bucket of cold water brought him to his senses quickly. He looked around to see the Weasleys grinning ear to ear.  
  
He had never had a proper birthday before...so he went red in the face as they all began singing 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to him.  
  
He rushed downstairs after a quick shower to see a huge cake on the table. Moody and Tonks were also waiting at the table, and so was Hermione.  
  
"Harry, Happy B'day" she smiled brightly and gave him a hug. He hugged her back.  
  
"Potter, as it is 16th birthday, I have little bits of advice for you, CONSTANT VIGILANCE" said Moody...then grinned, "Just joking."  
  
"Happy B'day Harry" said Tonks, shaking his hand enthusiastically.  
  
Soon, they were all enjoying the huge cake.  
  
They had all given him a set of presents and he hardly knew what to do with them all, the worst however was when Dumbledore himself walked in, gave Harry a wink and handed out their OWL letters.  
  
"Go on, open it, dears" said Mrs. Weasley, even though she wasn't all that sure she wanted Ron to open his.  
  
There was a scream of pure delight from Hermione who seemed to have scored 20 OWLS, with not a grade which was below 'Outstanding'.  
  
"Well" grinned Harry, "You go first, Ron"  
  
Ron had been watching Hermione with despair on his face. "That wouldn't be fair, you know, you go first"  
  
"What, I'm the B'day Boy, Ron, and so just go on and open it up" said Harry.  
  
"You just wait for my birthday, Potter" said Ron, torn.  
  
He opened his letter and announced crestfallenly "Six OWLS". "That's not too bad, Ron...you have got as much as Fred and George put together" said Hermione, "What about you, Harry?" "I've gotten 6 too" said Harry.  
  
Mrs. Weasley seemed relieved that Ron wasn't going the 'Fred and George' way. Ginny was giggling at the look on Ron's face each time Hermione described the kind of effort and books that had helped her on her way to a particular 'Outstanding' OWL. Harry was just pleased that he hadn't fared too badly, what with his almost not attempting the Divination, Astronomy and History of Magic exams.  
  
After the excitement the OWLS had generated had settled down, Ron and Harry returned back to their room where they discussed the Chudley Cannons chances in the Quidditch league. They were joined by Hermione and Ginny and Luna soon after.  
  
When Harry walked down to the kitchen a while later, he found Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley and Lupin having a three pronged Row.  
  
"THERE IS NO WAY HARRY WILL BE LET INTO THE ORDER AND THAT'S FINAL" he heard Mrs. Weasley scream.  
  
"You can not stop him from what he really wants to do, Molly" reasoned Lupin gravely.  
  
"He's too young, just sixteen, and you are ready to let him risk his neck already" she growled threateningly.  
  
"Now, now, Molly, I'm sure Dumbledore knows what he is doing...but I have my doubts" Mr. Weasley ran a hand through his hair rather worriedly.  
  
Harry stepped into the kitchen. The row stopped quite suddenly and Mrs. Weasley tried to hush him away. He gently removed her hand from his shoulder.  
  
"Mrs. Weasley, I have thought this over completely and there is nothing that will stop me from doing what I think is right...and do stop treating me like a baby" he added irritably.  
  
Mrs. Weasley looked shocked, and then she turned about and walked out of the kitchen rather angrily.  
  
"I'll go after her, don't worry, Harry, she's having trouble letting go" said Mr. Weasley as he hurried away after his wife.  
  
"Well, that's that" said Lupin wearily.  
  
"Come to the conference room tomorrow evening at 7 PM, ok" he said. Then he gave Harry a firm shake hand and disapparated.  
  
I had started another story "HP n OoP" Do review that also and tell me whether I ought to work on that as well ( in simple words...is it worth the trouble)  
  
THANX 


	6. THE MEETING

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
Disclaimer: Well, plots mine...so is anything you don't recognize. The rest of it belongs to a certain Miss Rowling.  
  
Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. Come on People, REVIEW, I love reviews  
  
CHAPTER 6  
  
THE MEETING...AND CONFRONTATIONS  
  
Harry knew that, eventually, the fact that he had been allowed into the Order would leak out to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He wasn't sure of how they would react, not to mention Fred and George. The previous day's row between Remus Lupin and Mrs. Weasley was sure to escalate the tension and he was sure that this time around, Mrs. Weasley was less than pleased with his attitude. Well, there was nothing anyone could do about it this time...since Voldemort was likely to kill him or vice versa, which was not something anyone else could say they were faced with. He knew that he would like to keep this information to himself; he didn't want anyone looking shocked at the revelation or trying to fuss about him as though he was a kid or something.  
  
'Oh, come on. They are scared out of their wits anytime someone even says Voldemort's name. But the moment they here the prophecy...they'll start having kittens: "oh, Harry's too young for this stuff" and all that' Harry thought grimly. Well, he had always had the feeling that it would eventually come down to either him or Voldemort.  
  
He tried to look as though he was enjoying the stories that Ron was telling them about Fred and George. It looked as though he was failing miserably; he noticed Hermione and Ginny shoot one another a small glance. Luna was staring out of the window and he could trust Ron would fail to notice anything anyway.  
  
As soon as Ron had finished his story, Harry gave another forced laugh... he hadn't heard a word in the previous hour.  
  
"Er- Ron, what time is it?" he asked, before Ron could get started again.  
  
"It's nearly seven," said Hermione, frowning at Ron as he fumbled around wondering where his watch was.  
  
"Why don't we go down then?" said Ginny, she was clearly suspicious that Harry was trying to sneak away by himself.  
  
"No" said Harry hastily, "I mean, I'll be back soon, ok?" He got up and without looking back at any of them, walked out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling he's hiding something" he heard Ron's voice drifting downstairs.  
  
Whatever Hermione had said was drowned out in a chorus of cracks as members of the Order, including Severus Snape apparated in the front room and walked towards the conference room.  
  
Lupin put a hand on Harry's shoulder as they walked through the door. Harry kept his eyes away from Snape, but that did nothing to quiet the intense hate building up inside him.  
  
Mrs. Weasley was looking at Harry despairingly. He simply looked away; he didn't need additional feelings of guilt.  
  
Soon, Dumbledore had called the meeting to order and started off.  
  
"I'd like to introduce the newest member to the Order, Harry Potter. I'd like to tell you beforehand that I know most of your objections to this beforehand and that it will do nothing to change this decision. So, without wasting any further time..." he sat down.  
  
Most of the Order members were shaking their heads disappointedly. Others simply looked stunned at the fact that Dumbledore had given in to Harry's 'whim' so easily. However, they didn't say anything about it. Harry distinctly heard Mrs. Weasley beside him give a small sniff.  
  
"Mrs. Weasley, please, I HAVE to do this" he said to her, whispering very gently and in a soothing voice...he knew suddenly how upset she was.  
  
She gave him a watery smile, a small one, but a smile nonetheless. She felt proud of Harry; though she still was very upset; Arthur had talked to her for a long time yesterday and tried to explain to her why Harry felt the way he did. She wondered how it was possible to take so much as Harry had and still keep going on.  
  
"I'll always love you, Harry, no matter what decisions you make" she whispered back.  
  
He grinned and gave her hand a comforting pat, the look on his face changed considerably when he looked at Snape.  
  
Meanwhile, Moody had stood up.  
  
"This is not common knowledge, and the Ministry has agreed to keep this secret from the public. An attack aimed at releasing the Death Eaters in Azkaban took place yesterday night. 40 to 50 Dementors attacked the place. However, thanks to Snape's warning, we were able to evacuate the place completely with the help of our – erm – new guards. The new location is going to be kept secret from the Order also, the only people knowing about this place are Dumbledore and myself and the guards. So, if you want anything to do with the captured Death Eaters...you'll have to get the approval from both of us. This is a purely precautionary measure, of course. Any questions" he waited in case anyone did have a question.  
  
"What new guards?" asked Tonks?  
  
"Can't tell you that, Tonks, anyone else?" he finished.  
  
No one else had any questions, even if they did, they knew they weren't about to get any more information from Moody.  
  
"What's your job, Snape" Harry spat at Snape suddenly.  
  
Snape was decidedly avoiding his eyes, unlike the Snape Harry knew and this had angered him even further.  
  
"It's Professor Snape to you, Harry; let us just say that he is helping us by informing us of any movement by the Death Eaters." answered Dumbledore, neutrally.  
  
"Are you sure Professor...I hope you realize that someone among us has been passing information to Voldemort" said Harry coldly, glaring accusingly at Snape, whose black eyes were now narrowed unfathomably.  
  
"I don't believe for a moment that anyone in this room is passing information over to Voldemort, Harry" said Dumbledore quietly.  
  
The rest of the room had been staring at this unexpected confrontation, though they all still managed to flinch when they heard the name.  
  
"How then did Voldemort know about the Burrow incident, Dumbledore?" asked Shacklebolt.  
  
"I have many theories, Kingsley, but none of them seem likely" said Dumbledore. His voice was calm and purposeful. "Trusting each other is the only to victory...and blaming one another is not going to help, meeting dismissed" he announced.  
  
As they all moved out of the room, Dumbledore came over to Harry and said slowly, "I think it's time for you to put aside your differences with Professor Snape, Harry" and disapparated.  
  
As soon as most of the Order had left, Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug and went into the kitchen to get dinner ready. He moved to the front room and saw Ron sitting there with his mouth open. Hermione and Ginny had left Luna upstairs and all three of them had been waiting to ambush him.  
  
"Brilliant, mate. How did you manage it?" asked Ron, Hermione was looking rather uneasy, she had an idea that whatever was coming wasn't all that welcome.  
  
"Sorry I didn't tell you guys that I had joined, I can't tell you the why and how of it either" said Harry.  
  
"Whatdya mean, come on, Harry, what happened in there" questioned Ron, his grin was slipping of his face. "Hermione here has this stupid feeling that you won't be telling us anything," he smirked, but the doubt was clear in his voice.  
  
"Sorry Ron, I can't tell any of you what happens in there" said Harry, causing Ron to glare at him.  
  
"Oh, Harry, you must not join the Order because you are feeling guilty about – I mean, don't do anything stupid, don't risk your life just because..." said Hermione rather quickly. She seemed to have been holding this in for some time.  
  
"Did you say JUST, Hermione?" asked Harry, his voice was colder than ever before, and it held a note of bitterness ...Hermione had never heard this kind of tone and it sent a slight shiver down her spine.  
  
"Come on, Harry, why can't you tell us this stuff, we are fighting You-Know- Who just as much as you are" said Ron, taken aback by Harry's tone too.  
  
Harry laughed bitterly. Ginny froze on hearing that laugh, it was harsh and cold, it was a laugh she had heard another person laugh, down in the Chamber of Secrets. It sent a chill down her spine and she realized that Harry was breaking down...though he was carefully avoiding any emotion with them around; he was breaking down and pushing them away, slowly but surely.  
  
"Ron, the day you get around to saying VOLDEMORT, I'll take your words seriously" she heard Harry saying wearily. He seemed to have pulled himself together.  
  
"Let's talk about something else, ok," he said, "let's not kill the fun that we can have because of Voldemort". He elbowed Ron in the ribs, who grinned back awkwardly...  
  
As they began walking up the stairs, Harry noticed that Ginny was looking rather pale. He went to her and put his hand round her shoulders. He himself was surprised at his action...Ginny didn't know where to look and stared determinedly at the ground.  
  
They could both feel the heat rising up their faces.  
  
"Erm – bad idea – are you ok, Ginny?" asked Harry, quietly pulling his hand away, looking worriedly at her.  
  
Ginny had worked so hard for the past two years to get Harry out of her mind, but suddenly, gazing into his startlingly green eyes, she knew she had lost. She could not help falling for someone like Harry, not because he was 'The Boy Who Lived', but because he was this guy who was gentle and kind and brave and caring and – she didn't have enough words.  
  
"I'm ok now, Harry" she smiled at him as they walked upstairs, walking just behind Ron and Hermione, who seemed to have been listening quietly to both of them.  
  
Hope you liked this chapter; it's going to be a bit of H/G from now on, with R/Hr in b/w.... But, I'm not really good at fluff, so I'll stick to the plot more or less.... 


	7. ON BOARD THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't claim anything, ok...  
  
Ted Hammett: I agree with you completely. H/G is what it's gonna be, but it'll take 3-4 chapters more.  
I guess the confrontation was rather tame, but I wanted to keep it a bit short, c.  
  
MsHissyFits: 5 reviews!!!!! U rock, don't ask too many questions though; I wouldn't wanna give away the plot.  
  
Historygrl: Sure I'm sure that I'm surely not JK. But lol and thanx, that WAS high praise indeed.  
  
Frankie: Hey man, thanx a lot. R will have an argument with H, but not yet and over something else. U bet I'll keep it realistic  
  
CHAPTER 7  
  
ON BOARD THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS  
  
The month passed by very quickly for Harry, in the company of Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione still seemed rather upset that Harry had left them out. However, Harry had learnt the knack of getting his best friends to stop discussing any topic he wanted to avoid by simply ignoring anything they said. Whenever they asked whether anything new had happened, he'd give a 'nothing new', which, thankfully, was true. The Order was working at finding Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but they seemed to have covered their tracks well...they simply seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth.  
  
On the brighter side, Luna seemed better off now. She would sometimes join in the conversation when the four of them would discuss Quidditch or Voldemort, though Harry felt that her interest in Voldemort had more to do with hatred and anger than her interest in rumours. Fred and George had taken up the responsibility of cheering her up by pulling pranks on the other four, though they still managed to shoot Harry dirty glares in the midst of their 'cheering up' act ever since Ron had broken the news of Harry joining the Order. So, Harry wasn't surprised when he found himself bursting into feathers for the fourth consecutive evening. He didn't mind, it provided some comic relief and the twins had started behaving normally with him.  
  
Soon, it was time to leave for Hogwarts, Quidditch, and in Harry's case, his home of five years. Harry's stuff had been brought down from the Dursleys and all of them had found that Lupin had gotten them all their texts, extra quills and parchment. Ron and Harry rolled their eyes as they heard Hermione complain about how little parchment Lupin had gotten for her to do her homework in.  
  
"Don't worry Hermione, you can have mine too" grinned Ron.  
  
"Same here," added Harry, grinning back at Ron as Ginny giggled.  
  
Hermione simply huffed at them and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'six owls'.  
  
"Ginny, I'm sure you will be paying more attention to your OWLS than these two here" she said, sounding very much like Percy.  
  
Ginny made an indistinct noise that might have meant agreement, or absolute disapproval. Hermione however seemed satisfied as she shot Ron and Harry another glare before continuing with her packing. Luna had no idea where her stuff was and soon the other four were helping her find her stuff. Harry remembered, with a sudden wrench of pity, how Luna was treated by her housemates in Hogwarts.  
  
Impulsively, he touched her shoulder and said, "Listen, if you have any kind of problem in Hogwarts or- or anything you feel you need to talk about... you can come to me, ok."  
  
She nodded briefly, and then gave him a hug.  
  
"Well, I've never had a little sister before, would you like to be my unofficial little sister?" he asked, pulling back and grinning at her.  
  
"I'd like that" she said, smiling.  
  
Hermione had been listening to the entire conversation and she broke into tears, gave Harry a huge and wet hug and whispered softly, in awe, to him "you've grown up so much Harry".  
  
Harry smiled at her and left them to help Mr. Weasley get all their stuff into two grand Ministry cars which were waiting outside for them.  
  
"The Ministry's undergone a change of heart for you, Harry" explained Mr. Weasley as Harry pulled up the baggage into the magically expanded cars.  
  
Mrs. Weasley was standing by and gave all of them a hug asking them to take their school year seriously.  
  
"Ginny, Luna, I want both of you to give the OWLS your best shot" she said sternly, both girls nodded meekly even as Hermione flashed an 'I win you lose' smile to Ron.  
  
"What!?" said Ron, irritated.  
  
"Nothing Ron, absolutely nothing" replied Hermione, lurching forward as the car jumped in front of a few ordinary cars mysteriously.  
  
As soon as they started bickering, Harry tuned out of their argument. He noticed that two Aurors were seated in the front seats of each car. The Ministry sure wasn't taking any chances, even in the midst of the crowded street.  
  
Without any kind of incidents, they found themselves at platform 9 ¾ where they found Lupin waiting for them.  
  
"Right on time. All of you ready to go?" he asked brightly.  
  
"Remus, what are you doing here?" asked Harry, surprised to see Lupin after saying goodbye to him just a few minutes back.  
  
"Well, that's because I'm joining you at Hogwarts this year, aren't I" he smiled, looking at the incredulous faces in front of him.  
  
"Cool" burst out Ron.  
  
"Yes!!" grinned Harry, punching the air with his fist  
  
"That's so wonderful," chimed the three girls in unison.  
  
After all of them had finished congratulating him, he waved and walked to the front of the Hogwarts express where Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were waiting for him.  
  
"What do you reckon the Professors are riding on the train for?" asked Ron, after finding an empty cabin into which they heaved their stuff.  
  
"They might be worried about another attack" said Hermione, settling into a seat.  
  
They spent their time playing exploding snap. Harry felt something amiss.  
  
He looked over at Neville, who had joined them a little while ago "Hey, Neville, did you see Malfoy or his thugs anywhere on the train?" he asked.  
  
"Nope" said Neville, looking up.  
  
Hermione had caught onto what Harry was thinking, "Actually, I don't think I've seen too many Slytherins on board" she said.  
  
"So what?" asked Ron.  
  
"Well, why would anyone avoid the train Ron?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"Because it might be dangerous" said Ginny, her eyes widening slightly.  
  
"Exactly, and the fact that they are Slytherins means they know something we don't"  
  
Even as Hermione finished explaining, the temperature dropped and an intense chill seemed to invade the air around them.  
  
"Dementors" shouted Harry, as he rushed out of cabin.  
  
"YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO STAY INSIDE", yelled Harry, knowing fully well that none of his friends had created an actual patronus in front of a dementor, as he saw the rest of them get up and follow him...  
  
The lights in the train had extinguished. Lupin's form could be seen at one end of the coach, and so could McGonagall's.  
  
Harry could hear faint screams already, Sirius arching back as he fell into the veil...a high cold laughter.  
  
Lupin and McGonagall were shooting out silver mist from their wands.  
  
The coach door opened, and three tall and hooded figures glided into the coach... he could see Lupin and McGonagall hurrying away from them.  
  
The shimmering mist Lupin and McGonagall had conjured dissolved as the Dementors drew a cold rattling breath.  
  
The scream in Harry's ears was growing louder.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, as though in slow motion, he saw Ron falling onto the ground, ashen faced.  
  
Hermione had her wand out, but had gone very white; she looked incapable of saying any kind of spell.  
  
Ginny was shaking uncontrollably, a pale silver shot out of her wand, hovered for a few seconds, then disappeared as Ginny fainted.  
  
Luna seemed to be lost in some other world where she had knelt down beside Neville, who was screaming.  
  
Harry saw Professor Lupin crouched a couple of feet away from him, he was whispering "I couldn't stop it, I couldn't stop it" with his face in his hands, wand forgotten on the floor.  
  
The screaming was too much...images of Sirius falling...  
  
Professor McGonagall was still trying to put up some kind of resistance...more Dementors flooded into the coach.  
  
She fell too. The Dementor closest to Lupin was turning his head upwards. The other Dementors were inching towards them.  
  
'NO' thought Harry fiercely, 'I will not lose Remus too'.  
  
The thought cleared his senses a bit, "EXPECTO PATRONUM" he bellowed, as a stag burst out of his wand and charged the Dementor holding Lupin.  
  
The Dementor drew back a bit, then all of them, twelve in all, drew another chilling breath, and Prongs stumbled.  
  
The screams were getting louder,  
  
"No" whispered Harry, his voice failing him as he sank to the floor... 


	8. JAKOB STRAUSS

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
Nat: You just saved Remus Lupin from the Kiss with you review. You should be so proud.  
  
CHAPTER 8  
  
JAKOB STRAUSS  
  
Harry opened his eyes to see a pair of half-moon glasses peering over him. His head ached and he felt very weak. He suddenly remembered what had happened and sat up with a gasp, even as a pair of strong hands tried to restrain him.  
  
"Professor, what happened?" asked Harry, looking around. Most of the people who had been with him were lying on the beds in the Hospital wing. "Are they all ok?" he added anxiously.  
  
"It's all right Poppy, I'll make sure Harry has his chocolate" said Dumbledore, nodding at Madam Pomphrey, who let go of Harry making tutting sounds and left to attend to Hermione, who seemed to be shifting in her bed.  
  
"Everyone's fine, no lasting harm done." said Dumbledore brightly, handing Harry large chunks of chocolate.  
  
"That was quite some Patronus, Harry; you just saved Remus's life with it, not to mention that it's an extremely difficult feat to even produce a corporeal Patronus in such close vicinity of so many Dementors. Not even Professor Lupin or Professor McGonagall could have done it."  
  
Harry remembered the wisps that had shot out of his Professors wands.  
  
"What happened, I remember nothing after Prongs stumbled...how long have I been out, Professor?"  
  
"Not too long, Harry...the Sorting is over, and all your stuff has been carried to your dormitory. Let's just say Harry; that the new guards who had been holding the captured Death Eaters helped out."  
  
"You- You knew about the attack that it was going to happen" spluttered Harry, accidentally spewing out a bit of chocolate "why didn't you warn us or something?"  
  
"I had no idea this would happen, Harry, but as soon as Professor Lupin sent out word of an attack, the guards were- requested to help. Well, I won't be keeping you any longer; I see that your friends are all up. I need to see you in my office tomorrow, Harry."  
  
Harry watched him as he told Madam Pomphrey something, most probably letting her know that she was in charge of him too.  
  
A while later, six weary friends walked into the Dining hall, the feast was already over, but the house-elves had enthusiastically agreed to take up the task of preparing a bit more food. None of them was very hungry, though, and they picked at their food, neither Ron nor Hermione questioned Harry's story that Aurors had helped them out. He hated lying to them, but the true story would bring out questions like 'What new guards' and 'When was Azkaban broken into'. Not that he knew the answers himself, but Ron and Hermione wouldn't believe him. He noticed however, that Ginny hadn't bought into his story at all.  
  
After their dinner, Luna turned towards her house, but not before Harry had given her a hug and reminded her of their new relationship. Harry then watched as Neville rather nervously wished her a good night, flushing a deep pink.  
  
Ginny giggled, and all of them waved her goodbye.  
  
They walked up quietly to their House, gave the Fat Lady the password and climbed in.  
  
They muttered goodnight sleepily to each other. Harry saw that Ron had been shooting anxious glances at Hermione, so he grinned and nudged him in the ribs.  
  
"You know what, Ron, our dorm is this way, but if you really want to go along with Hermione, I won't stop you or anything" he called loudly, causing both Hermione and Ron to flush a deep red, they muttered goodnight rather hastily and hurried away, Hermione dragging Ginny along with her.  
  
"That went rather well, don't you think, Neville" he said, smirking.  
  
Neville grinned back, as they hurried after Ron, "rather well" he said.  
  
They entered their dorm and saw that Seamus and Dean had already crashed.  
  
"Night, both of you" called Harry.  
  
"G'night" replied Neville. Ron simply gave Harry a glare as he turned around and presented his back to Harry.  
  
Harry chuckled, it was always fun to be back at Hogwarts, and real exciting too.

8

Harry awoke the next morning to the sound of Pig whizzing and twittering around like mad.  
  
He caught him in the palm of his hand, and found a letter addressed to Ron. He shook Ron awake and handed him the letter.  
  
"It's from mum" said Ron, after finishing it "telling us to stay close together in case of any danger and not to go anywhere without Dumbledore's permission and so on..." he said "honestly, it's not like we go looking for trouble or something, eh."  
  
They walked into the common room and waited while Hermione and Ginny joined them. Thankfully, the common room was more or less deserted this early in the morning.  
  
They hurried to breakfast, not wanting to talk too much about the previous days attack, though Hermione had obviously been thinking it over, because she kept frowning at her breakfast.  
  
Soon, the Great Hall was filled with people, all of whom broke into excited chatter on seeing them there.  
  
"Harry, is it true that-"  
  
"Hey, Harry, did the Dementors-"  
  
"Potter, I told you you'd pay" muttered a nasty voice softly as Draco Malfoy brushed past him to join Pansy Parkinson at the Slytherin table.  
  
Harry simply ignored him as Hermione came by and handed over forms in which they had to fill in what subjects they'd like to sit for in the NEWTS.  
  
"What all are you going to fill in Ron?" asked Harry.  
  
"Well, I'm just making sure that I dump Potions, Divination and History of Magic in the trash right where they belong"  
  
Hermione made a noise indicating disapproval. Harry sighed, remembering that Potions was required if he wanted to be an Auror. He did have an A in potions; so he gloomily filled in Potions along with DADA and the other subjects.  
  
Harry turned to Ron and said "Potions is necessary for Auror training, Ron".  
  
"NO" hissed Ron, "What are Aurors gonna do with Potions anyway..." he glared at Snape, who was talking quietly to Dumbledore.  
  
"Ron, I think you should just take-" began Hermione, but McGonagall had stepped over "Mr. Potter, I need you to go to the headmaster office right now" she cut in.  
  
"Right now?" asked Harry.  
  
"Yes" she said, and then walked away.  
  
By then, all the students except the sixth years had started off for their classes. Sixth years had the day off as they had to hand in their forms and all.  
  
Hermione and Ron looked curiously at Harry, who shrugged 'dunno' and walked off behind McGonagall.  
  
"Erm- what's this about?" he asked, hurrying to catch up with her.  
  
"The headmaster will tell you, Mr. Potter, whiz-bang" she said, giving the stone gargoyles the password. The gargoyles leapt aside to reveal a staircase.  
  
McGonagall left Harry in the Headmaster's office where Harry was joined by Dumbledore, Lupin, and to his very great dislike, Snape.  
  
"Ah, Harry, as you might have guessed, this is about yesterday's attacks" said Dumbledore gravely.  
  
"We need you to do something for the Order, right here in Hogwarts" said Lupin. Snape simply glared, looking as though he wasn't a voluntary participant here.  
  
"Think this over carefully Harry. I won't hide anything from you. The Dementors moved straight to your coach yesterday, they weren't even searching for you on the train, which was lucky in a way, because that meant that the other students didn't have to deal with them. This is impossible without help from someone who saw you in the Hogwarts Express. Can you think of any such person, Harry?"  
  
"No" said Harry, stunned, 'Malfoy didn't even board the train' he thought... 'And I'm so blind, leading my friends into danger... I can't put their lives at risk, no matter what. As long as they remain close to me, they'll always be in danger; I will not have their blood on my hands even if it means that I have to stay away from them...'  
  
"Harry" said Dumbledore, breaking into his thoughts, "I can understand exactly what you feel, but it's not your fault. So, I have a suggestion" he continued, while Lupin put his hand around Harry's shoulders.  
  
"I need you to get into Slytherin and act as a spy for me" said Dumbledore.  
  
Harry gave him a 'did I hear correctly, are you crazy' look.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.  
  
"I believe that some students in Slytherin are not quite on our side, and we need any possible information we can get. Harry, you will be disguised as an exchange student from Durmstrang and sorted into Slytherin by the name of Jakob Strauss. You don't need to worry about details, Professor Lupin will hand them all over to you. So, are you ready for this?"  
  
Harry didn't know what to say. "Um – What about the real me, won't Ron and Hermione and all know?"  
  
"Not at all, Harry. You shall be away at Durmstrang, and need not reappear for as long as you require"  
  
Harry thought about this for a moment. It might help him get rid of Malfoy for good... also; Voldemort would be told that Harry was away at Durmstrang, so his friends would be in much less danger at Hogwarts.  
  
Harry nodded his acceptance.  
  
"What's he here for? And what about other staff members?" he asked, glaring at Snape.  
  
"Professor Snape will prepare Polyjuice potion and hand it to you every potions class, you will have to make sure that you are not caught, Harry, there is a lot at stake here. We mustn't let them know that we suspect a spy. None of the other staff members will be let in on this."  
  
Harry nodded again.  
  
"You will leave for Durmstrang tonight, Harry. Professor Lupin would like a few strands of your hair, please." he said, handing Harry an ordinary pair of scissors.  
  
When Harry had cut out a little bit, he handed it over to Lupin, who took it and after ruffling Harry's hair a bit, left with Snape.  
  
"You'll stay here for the rest of the day, Harry, while Professor Lupin goes about making your reasons for leaving, he'll be back tomorrow morning. There are a few charms I need to perform on you, so that you don't feel uncomfortable in your new identity. This is a sort of memory modification charm, so that you will respond to the name Jakob Strauss and not Harry Potter"  
  
He whispered some kind of incantation and placed his wand on Harry's temple.  
  
"What is your name?" he asked.  
  
"Jakob Strauss" responded Harry immediately.For all you H/G shippers, it's about to start. 


	9. IN THE HOUSE OF SLYTHERIN

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
Warning: Mild swearing in this chapter, nothing to throw you off your lunch or anything.  
  
Disclaimer: Oh, come on. U know it, I know it, why bother to say it.  
  
Ted: Come on, I'm a completely H/G shipper... no way Ginny's going to fall for Jakob. For Ginny, there is no one but Harry.  
  
Volleypickle: thanx, hope u enjoy the upcoming chapters too.  
  
TheQQ: Writing more, as soon as I can.  
  
Gohan00: ( thanx  
  
CHAPTER 9  
  
THE HOUSE OF SLYTHERIN  
  
"Ah, very good. It works very well indeed, I would not presume to say that I did not have my doubts as to its efficiency" said Dumbledore, nodding at Harry.  
  
"Also, you will need to drink in the essence of Mr. Strauss" he continued.  
  
"What is that for, and what does essence mean anyway?" questioned Harry.  
  
"Well, despite the fact that your body will look and sound like that of Mr. Strauss, who, incidentally is dead, your body language and actions will not be quite the same. The essence of Jakob Strauss is what will help you behave like him, somewhat like possession, but unlike possession, you have the choice of deciding when and where you really wish to act like him. This is not an easy task, Harry. Mr. Jakob Strauss was a wizard who disliked Muggle-borns, hence, it would help you to get much closer to – suspect students, see. That would also mean that while you acted like him, your friends would probably dislike you just as much."  
  
"Can't I spy without the essence, I mean – I can be real careful and act like I dislike Muggle-borns and all." said Harry, not liking the sound of this essence thing.  
  
"I don't think that is possible right now. Especially because if anybody happened to be a sufficiently advanced Occlumenist, he would pick your true emotions, and all that we have done would be undone."  
  
"The essence can be removed later on, right? It's not a permanent kind of thing, right?" asked Harry.  
  
"Completely" answered Dumbledore, "Now, lets get down to it" he said, picking up a tiny crystalline orb which glowed a deep greenish colour. He handed it to Harry and asked him to swallow the entire thing with a glass of water.  
  
"I don't feel any different, Professor" said Harry, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.  
  
"Well, when you want the essence to start acting, just say 'channelio' and when u want to it to stop, say 'rectus'.  
  
"Channelio" said Harry quietly, immediately he felt an unpleasant sensation flood his mind, as though he were drowning.  
  
The sensation passed as soon as it had appeared. He felt a smirk plastered on his face. He felt something akin to dislike at being sitting so close to Dumbledore.  
  
"Don't fight it, Harry, the essence is rather weak, and you can control your actions at any time you wish, but remember that the more like Jakob Strauss you are, the quicker we can get what we need."  
  
Harry let go.  
  
"Well, old man, are we done yet" asked Harry, in an impertinent tone.  
  
"Excellent, Jakob, now for the potion," said Dumbledore, handing over a glass filled with Polyjuice potion.  
  
Harry bit back a nasty comment and taking the potion, swallowed it in one gulp.  
  
He felt the familiar nausea wash over as he felt his body change into that of Jakob Strauss.  
  
He stood up; Strauss wasn't much taller than him, though he was not as lean as Harry. He looked over at the mirror, watching his smooth black hair neatly combed on his head. Strauss certainly was good looking, but his eyes reflected his arrogance and hatred.  
  
Harry then spent a few hours looking over Strauss's background details. Born in Bulgaria, 'same as Krum' thought Harry, educated at Durmstrang, missing since his sixth year, which was one year back... suspected Death Eater.  
  
When Lupin came back, Harry immediately asked him about Ron, Hermione and Ginny.  
  
"They just saw you leave for Durmstrang with Professor Snape. No lengthy explanations, just that you were leaving to be on an important exchange program for some reasons which you can not tell them. They seemed quite upset; Hermione then broke out and called Snape a string of names I never imagined ever existed in her dictionary. Ron simply stormed away after muttering 'goodbye' after having a heated row. Ginny stared at me/you for a while before giving me/you a hug, I imagine she was in tears by the time you left" he said sadly.  
  
"I must tell you that the hug was quite personal, if you get what I mean" he grinned, nudging Harry in the ribs.  
  
"Get off, verevolf" said Harry coldly, in his thick accent, then "Sorry, Professor, it's the Essence" he said regretfully. Lupin waved away his apology, now smirking. Strauss's voice was also very smooth, like Malfoy's. 'God, how I dislike this Strauss guy' he thought savagely, before turning back to what exactly Lupin had just said.  
  
'Ginny isn't over me yet, nah, I remember Hermione telling me that she was, and she is going around with Dean now, isn't she?' he thought, suddenly realizing that he was thinking about Ginny. 'Bugger, it's just Ginny, mate, I'm sure she is over me, no matter what Remus says, which is a good thing."  
  
Lupin had now joined Dumbledore, who held the School sorting hat in his hands and motioned to Harry to go down with them.  
  
Soon, they were down at the Great Hall. Dumbledore had obviously requested all the students to assemble at the great hall for dinner.  
  
Many a curious glance passed his way, but he walked with his head in the sky, and an arrogant smile on his face, letting go of any control. Ron was whispering something into Hermione's ear. The Slytherins were looking quite pleased. He looked straight at Malfoy and smirked, who returned the smirk. Quite a few girls also seemed rather excited to see him, which included, rather unfortunately for Harry, Pansy Parkinson.  
  
He joined Dumbledore.  
  
"Well, as you all have undoubtedly been informed, Hogwarts will be playing host to an exchange program with Durmstrang. One of our students, Mr. Harry Potter, has already left for Durmstrang" said Dumbledore. A wave of whispers swept across the Hall, Dumbledore waited for them to subdue before continuing. "And, we welcome, with our entire heart, Mr. Jakob Strauss, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and hope that you will have as much to gain from you, as you from us. Mr. Strauss, kindly step down to the Sorting hat."  
  
Harry stepped down and Professor McGonagall hurried over. She wasn't looking too pleased. Harry sat down on the rather small stool and McGonagall pulled the hat over his head.  
  
'Ah, Mr. Potter, or is it Mr. Strauss now, sure this time, eh? Well, if you are, SLYTHERIN'  
  
Harry heard the hat shout out the last word and Professor McGonagall removed the hat from his head. The Slytherins had burst into applause and Malfoy in particular looked rather pleased. The other three houses were whispering.  
  
"Mr. Strauss, you have been assigned to Slytherin house for the duration of your program here. That table there" said McGonagall, pointing towards the Slytherins.  
  
Harry walked over towards the Slytherins jauntily and shook hands with the people around him.  
  
"Mr. Strauss, I hope you will fully enjoy your stay here," said Dumbledore, before motioning for everyone to start eating.  
  
Harry saw Malfoy walking over towards him.  
  
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy" said Malfoy, holding out his hand. Harry shook it, muttering "Jakob Strauss". He let go of any resistance completely.  
  
"I hope this is a pureblood house" he said to Malfoy.  
  
"Purest blood, mate. Stay away from them," he said, pointing at Gryffindor, "We are the best house, while the others are filled with Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers."  
  
"Ah, vell, I am sure you vill be kind enough to act as my guide here" said Harry.  
  
"Sure thing, Jakob" said Malfoy, smirking.  
  
Pansy Parkinson was fawning all over Malfoy, asking him to introduce her as well.  
  
"I'm Pansy" she said, moving nervously towards Harry.  
  
"And I," paused Harry "am allergic to bitches like you" he finished cruelly.  
  
Malfoy burst out laughing at this. "Buzz off, slut."  
  
Pansy Parkinson ran away, her face in her hands.  
  
"I like that one there" said Harry suddenly, pointing towards the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Weasley," said Malfoy, shocked for a second. "She's hot, yeah, pureblood too, but a hopeless Muggle-lover."  
  
Harry felt a wave of nausea pass over him, 'God, this Strauss guy is much worse than Malfoy, who makes me sick nonetheless.'  
  
He turned away for a moment. When he looked back, his arrogant smirk was back in place... "Veasley, huh, why don't you lead me back to the house now, Malfoy" he said.  
  
Ted: Come on, I'm a completely H/G shipper... no way Ginny's going to fall for Jakob. For Ginny, there is no one but Harry. 


	10. OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
  
**Tan0508**: I'm glad u like the stuff I write.  
  
**Siriusblack08, xosilverandcold, blueadonis, vixenking**: thanx a lot. Here's the next chapter.  
  
**MsHissyFits**: u r my top reviewer, 8 in all. ( Applause heard all over)  
  
**MrsSakuraPotter**:  
  
Whoo, u leave pretty long reviews, don't u. Ergo, long replies from me. I'm ok with reviews no matter what sort so long as they help me out. U have been a gr8 help, believe me.  
  
Chap 5: Harry shouted at Dumbledore, remember, so why not Mrs. W as well.  
  
Chap 8: Why?  
  
Chap 4: I dunno what to say. Here goes, do u mind if I take the bloody description I wrote out and put yours in its  
place when I revise the entire story. ( what u wrote was much much better than mine ).  
About the apparition, thanx, I'll make sure no one else apparates in, and we shall assume that the others  
came by broomstick or portkey or whatever. As for the Diggory death theory, read Chapter 3.  
  
**jody**: thanx for ur offer, though i don't really know what a beta is or what they do... could u plz tell me.

CHAPTER 10

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES  
  
Harry woke up to see an unfamiliar stone walled circular dorm. The previous night, Malfoy had shown Harry to their house and also introduced him to most of his 'friends', including Crabbe and Goyle, and Harry had in brief words answered their questions about Strauss. In Harry's mind, each of Malfoy's friends would qualify as a Death Eater; most of their questions had to do with Durmstrang's leniency regarding the Dark Arts. Malfoy, on the other hand, filled him in with all kinds of 'hate other houses' kind of information, and 'hate Potter' kind of information most of all.  
  
The Slytherin dorms weren't as comfortable as the Gryffindor dorms, and were rather cold for comfort. Harry had slept fitfully and sleeping in the same room with Malfoy wasn't the least of his problems. His dreams had been interspersed with a few strange dreams which he assumed were Jakob Strauss's, and were just as unpleasant as his own.  
  
He glanced to look at Malfoy, who was still asleep. He wondered how exactly he was going to find out about the spy, and the only way he could do it was through Malfoy. He wondered if Jakob Strauss would do something different if he were a spy in Gryffindor. He let go of resistance and tried to think of the problem as Strauss would have done.  
  
'Use Parkinson' said a sly voice in his head.  
  
Harry shuddered involuntarily; this guy seemed to have absolutely no morals. A slight ruffle broke his reverie; Malfoy had just woken up, and was grinning at Harry. Harry gave him a slight nod.  
  
"Why don't you get ready quickly, Jakob, I might as well take you to meet Snape today, he's the head of our house" said Malfoy, rubbing his pale face.  
  
Harry nodded again, Snape wouldn't be pleased to meet him even if he turned up looking like Salazar Slytherin himself...but the feeling was mutual, and at that point, Harry definitely hated Snape much more than Snape hated him.  
  
Soon, they were on their way to the Hall, with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.  
  
"Must they follow us_ everyvere_" said Harry, looking pointedly at Crabbe and Goyle, who looked at each other in confusion.  
  
"They're definitely useful, especially when you have to tackle Potter and his stinking friends" said Malfoy, almost spitting out the last few words with anger.  
  
"I don't need any assistance, get rid of them." said Harry coldly.  
  
Malfoy looked at him in an almost calculating manner. "You heard him, go stuff your faces elsewhere" said Malfoy smoothly, Crabbe and Goyle looked even more dumbstruck than usual, before leaving the two of them.  
  
As they entered the Great Hall, Harry collided into someone.  
  
"Watch where you are going. Oh, you are the new exchange student, aren't you?" said Ginny, as Harry stared at her...he felt strangely attracted to her, and that was when he remembered who exactly it was that Jakob Strauss had found rather attractive last night.  
  
He put out his hand to help her up, but immediately withdrew it as Malfoy stepped up. Harry certainly remembered what Malfoy thought of her as well, and felt a surge of anger rush to his head.  
  
"Weasley, I must have known" said Malfoy, looking her up and down with lustful eyes, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind a night with me in return for a bag of gold"  
  
Ron had charged into the scene seeing Malfoy, and Hermione along with him. Soon, all the students in the hall were whispering excitedly to each other, waiting for a scene.  
  
"Malfoy" he said threateningly. Hermione was glaring daggers at both of them as well.  
  
"Its okay, Ron. I can handle it" said Ginny, brushing dust of her robes as she helped herself up.  
  
"Yeah Weasley, I'm sure she can. Why don't you go back to snogging your mudblood girlfriend senseless."  
  
Ron turned crimson at this. Harry had no intention of letting things go too far, and curbing his wish to grind Malfoy into dust, contended with pulling him over roughly before Ron could smash Malfoy's face.  
  
"Let's go, no need to waste our time with them" said Harry coldly. Malfoy shrugged his hand off angrily.  
  
"And another thing, Malfoy, _never_ speak to Veasley like that again" he said smoothly to Malfoy, as they walked away, leaving a despairing Hermione to drag Ron away. The single sentence was more threatening than anything Malfoy had ever heard from Ron, more so because of the absence of a threatening note, which made it clear to Malfoy that it was in his best interests to keep his mouth shut.  
  
"Sure, I know you like her, anything for a friend" said Malfoy smoothly, recovering, but his eyes held a hint of apprehension.  
  
Breakfast was a dull affair. Harry noticed that Pansy Parkinson was sitting as far away from them as possible. Malfoy was in a bad mood and kept glaring at Ron, who returned them with interest.  
  
"First class, potions" said Malfoy, handing Harry his timetable.  
  
Harry walked besides a smug looking Malfoy towards the cold dungeons. "Watch the mudblood get her comeuppance. Snape is the best teacher we've got."  
  
Harry didn't reply, Potions wasn't his idea of getting a new year underway, but then, neither was spending his time with bloody freaking Malfoy.  
  
Harry sat down beside Malfoy; he noticed that there were quite a few Gryffindors, while Crabbe and Goyle were missing. He felt slightly better, as he watched Neville sit besides Hermione.  
  
'**_Neville_**' he realized abruptly, looking back to make sure. He felt a distinct pride of being Gryffindor; even Neville had passed Potions, and even had the guts to join in for the NEWT level.  
  
"Ah, we have quite a few surprises here, don't we. Apparently, the OWL standards have gone down drastically, especially if people like Longbottom are back here" said Snape softly, sneering at the class. "However, you will find that the NEWT levels are altogether a different matter. I shall assume that you do remember all that you have been taught in the previous five years you have been here."  
  
Soon, Harry was paired up with Malfoy and they proceeded to make a healing potion which could be used in cases of mild or severe headache. To his surprise, Snape walked past him without a word. Unfortunately for Neville, he was at the receiving end of Harry's share as well. Ron was busy shooting daggers at Malfoy, who smirked as Snape turned his attentions to Ron and Hermione.  
  
All in all, the class was much worse, Harry felt even worse when he saw his friends being picked upon, which was exactly what Snape had wanted.  
  
As soon as class finished, the Gryffindors hurried away.  
  
"Mr. Strauss, I'd like to have a word with you. Please stay back" said Snape, gliding over to Malfoy and Harry.  
  
"I'll wait outside, Jakob" said Malfoy, grinning at him.  
  
Harry didn't bother to return the grin. He was busy trying to find a way to get back at Snape.  
  
As soon as Malfoy had left, Snape handed Harry a glass filled with the potion. He drank it quickly.  
  
"It will last you until the next Potions class, Strauss" said Snape quietly, black eyes narrowed unfathomably.  
  
Harry nodded, glaring back at Snape.  
  
"Now, move it" said Snape, motioning to the door. Harry walked out, smirk back in place as he joined Malfoy.  
  
"DADA next, something I bet you are really good at." said Malfoy, joining him and giving him a sly grin.  
  
Harry didn't say anything. What was Malfoy expecting him to do, AVADA KEDAVRA off everyone in the class? They walked into the DADA classroom, Harry letting Malfoy lead the way. He saw that students from all four houses were having DADA classes together. Malfoy looked distinctly ruffled at this new development.  
  
Ron swore loudly as Harry and Malfoy walked in, but thankfully, what might have started did not start as Lupin walked in.  
  
"Hello everyone. I'm sure that most of you know me, for those of you who don't, I'm Professor Lupin" he said, nodding at Harry. "This year, the classes will be a bit difficult, not to mention that dueling classes shall also be held and will include students from fourth year and up. The notices shall be put up soon enough."  
  
He continued in a grave voice "...we are living in difficult times, and I hope that you will take these classes very seriously indeed."  
  
"Dueling classes, huh? We can have some fun" said Malfoy, rubbing his hands together gleefully.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.  
  
"It's my chance to get back at the mudblood" explained Malfoy, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"You see, this year, I have learnt enough to cause some serious damage" he said, with an evil smirk.


	11. AWAKENING

** HARRY POTTER AND THE GREEN FLAME SWORD  
**  
**MrsSakuraPotter**: Can't answer that question, maybe they do, maybe they don't.  
  
**Man rui-tian**: Awesome review. That was one bloody encouraging review. You'll have to wait a bit for the action though.  
  
**ÉAC629**: actually, the romance thing is a bit slow...but I don't think Harry would notice her too quickly...he needs a few people to clean his glasses to see what is in front of him. (Someone like Jakob)  
  
**Jody**: lol. I need some time to think this over.  
  
CHAPTER 11  
  
**_AWAKENING_**  
  
_The wind sweeping across him seemed cold and bitter. The sky looked ominously dark and Harry could see the full moon through a break in the clouds that rumbled across. He waited, though he did not know what it was that he was waiting for. He felt someone approach, as though from a distance. A shadow, as insubstantial as the weakest of ghosts, powerless, but the shadow held a hint of things that would come to pass. It flitted out of his sight, and he did not know what to make of it, though it seemed oddly familiar...of something, someone, that had lay dormant for a long while, and was now threatening to break out.  
  
The night had crept up upon him, and he had been caught unawares. The shadow was moving closer, watching him carefully, circling around him. He wondered what it would do to him. He felt oddly detached from the entire scene. There was nothing he could do anyway. The night whispered things that could have been and the shadow kept circling around him, waiting...  
  
He thought back to the night he had lost his Godfather, falling into the veil. The veil had been shimmering and he had been sure he could hear voices, soothing him, captivating him, drawing him onwards...  
  
The shadow drew closer; it was still biding it's time and it knew that he wasn't there yet.  
  
He thought back to the people who had been killed by Voldemort, his emotions in complete turmoil as guilt and pity competed to hold the upper hand. A sudden rush of hatred flooded him, drowning out every other emotion. He suddenly realized the presence of the shadow, acknowledging it's proximity with a sudden desire to escape. He hesitated slightly, looking around. Did he really want to escape? Why did he feel this way?  
  
The shadow seemed to sense that slightest hesitation...this was the moment it had waited for, it rushed upon him.  
  
He fell down on his knees, his right hand clutching his scar, which burnt so badly that he would have welcomed the Cruciatus curse in its stead.  
  
The wind bore down upon him much fiercely than before. The pain was breaking him down, 'why fight it, its what you want, its what you need' whispered a voice.  
  
'No' he thought...he would rather die than give in...die fighting...like his parents...like his godfather...like everyone he knew and loved...  
  
The pain gradually ebbed away; his forehead was throbbing madly as he lay down on the ground, exhausted, yet strangely awakened. He looked up as the moon shone through in all its brilliant glory through the clouds just before he drifted away into blackness.  
_  
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Harry woke up to find himself in a strangely familiar bed. He wondered how long he had been lying in the hospital dorm...he still remembered the dream so vividly he could almost swear it had been real.

He saw the figure of Madam Pomphrey hurrying over to him. It was late in the night and it looked as though she had some sixth sense that told her that he was awake.

"Ah, finally awake, Mr. Strauss...just a second, please drink this up" she said, pushing a glass of some strange potion down his throat.

"Questions later, right now I have to make sure you are completely ok."

"Vat happened, how long haff I been like this?" he asked, ignoring her completely.

"Three days now" she answered brusquely, trying to push him on to the bed from where he had been desperately trying to get up.

"Oh, for heavens sake, Mr. Strauss, its midnight, where do you want to go this time of the night?" she asked; now firmly pushing him down.

"Um- I'm fine, I have to- erm- go to the toilet" he finished, realizing that she would find it suspicious if he told her that he wanted to see Dumbledore at twelve 'o' clock at night.

She nodded absently, pointing out the bathroom to Harry.

Harry went to the bathroom, looking himself up and down in the mirror. He still looked very much like Jakob Strauss; he wondered whether Snape had been forcing Polyjuice down his unresisting throat each day.

Ever since the dream, he somehow felt different...and he was anxious to know that he was himself.

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Harry woke up the next morning to find a pale looking Malfoy besides him.

"Good morning, mate. Feeling better now" asked Malfoy cautiously.

"Ya, much better" said Harry, sighing inwardly that Ron, Hermione and- and- Ginny wouldn't be coming over to see him.

He wondered briefly why it was that he wanted Ginny to come visit him.

"You had us all in a right state, scared Goyle out of his wits" Malfoy's voice burst into his thoughts.

"Vat?" asked Harry, staring at Malfoy; it was not like Goyle had any wits to be scared out of.

"You don't remember anything?" asked Malfoy.

"No" said Harry,

"You were thrashing about, one hand clutching your head..." said Malfoy quietly.

"Suddenly, the entire dorm started shaking, like an earthquake or something, and then...your bed and the table got toasted. You must be a really powerful wizard" he finished, the awe plain in his voice.

"Vat do you mean, toasted?" asked Harry, disregarding the last sentence.

"_Ashes_, mate, _ashes_. No flames, _nothing_, it simply crumpled into dust and u fell over...and you wouldn't wake up no matter what we did."

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This chapter seems to leave a few loose ends, but the next one will clear it all up.


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